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(3) Number of houses concerning which action has been taken by the
Local Authority under Section 16, and in respect of which Owners
have given an undertaking that they will not be used for human
habitation 1
D—Proceedings under Sections 17, 18 and 27 of the Housing Act, 1957
(1) Number of separate tenements or underground rooms in respect of
which Closing Orders were made 13
(2) Number of separate tenements or underground rooms in respect of
which Closing Orders were determined, the tenement or room
having been rendered fit 1
CARAVAN SITES AND CONTROL OF DEVELOPMENT ACT, 1960
MIDDLESEX COUNTY COUNCIL ACT, 1944
A site licence for the use of a caravan at a sports ground in Northolt was renewed
in December for a further period of twelve months.
A new gipsy warden was appointed in March and during the year he succeeded in
blocking off most of the Council and privately owned sites in the Borough on which
caravanners were apt to park. This action forced the caravans on to lay-bys and
service roads and roadside verges which could not be blocked except by proper
fencing. The Hayes and Harlington Urban District Council continued to share the
cost and services of the warden and the arrangement worked satisfactorily.
In considering what action could be taken to solve the problem of itinerant caravan
dwellers, officers from the Town Clerk's Department and the Public Health Department
made visits to two caravan sites provided by Hertfordshire County Council and
Eton Rural District Council. As a result of a report submitted to the Public Health
Committee jointly by the Town Clerk and myself, members of the Committee visited
the Eton Rural District Council site at Mansion Lane, Iver. The question of the
provision of a similar site in this area was referred to the Caravan Trespassers
Committee who at a meeting in December resolved to request the Council of the
London Borough of Ealing to consider the provision of a site in consultation with
neighbouring boroughs. The Committee was of the opinion that there was no suitable
site available in the existing Borough of Ealing.
Although the strenuous efforts of the warden did much to prevent any caravans
parking for long periods in any one place, it has become apparent that there is a
hard core of families who are loath to move out of the district, and even if they do so
temporarily they always return. These are people who consider themselves as locals,
and whose children in many cases are employed in the area.
The warden was able to deal with those caravan dwellers who were merely passing
through the borough or who stayed for two or three days only, but the problem of
the dozen or so families who consider themselves as almost permanent inhabitants
of the district is practically insoluble by the methods now used.
OFFICES, SHOPS AND RAILWAY PREMISES ACT, 1963
This Act, which received the Royal Assent in 1963, was brought into force in 1964
by various Orders made by the Minister of Labour, and for the first time, sets standards
for the health, welfare and safety of employees in shops, offices and railway
31